1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cashless vending system, and more particularly to a system in which a user accesses a transaction history of a medium such as a cashless card.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vending machine system in which a user purchases a commodity at a vending machine using a valuable medium such as a cashless card offers the user the advantage of convenience with respect to speed of purchase and relief from the complexity involved in carrying and inserting loose coins. For the installer of the vending machine there are advantages including collection of customer information, efficient money management, avoidance of cash theft, and avoidance of the risk of loss of sales opportunities due to running out of small coins for change. Although practical application of this kind of cashless vending machine system is proceeding because of these advantages, there is room for improvement with respect to means by which a user that does not possess a reader device for a transaction history that is recorded on the medium can confirm their own transaction history information. More specifically, it is necessary for a user that does not possess a medium reader device to acquire transaction history information by a method such as confirming the transaction history information that is displayed on a display of a vending machine having that function, recording the transaction history information on the medium itself, or printing out the transaction history information when purchasing a commodity.
In addition to these kinds of methods, it is possible to acquire transaction history information using infrared transmission when the user possesses a mobile device with an infrared transmission function. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-083322, issued on Mar. 22, 2002, discloses a system in which a user who has a cash card for transportation tickets can access transaction history information using a mobile phone. In that system, the mobile phone includes a card communication part that reads and records data through communication with a server (control center).